


Moonstruck

by Macremae



Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, pretending to lose interest, switching POVs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-03 22:18:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6628825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macremae/pseuds/Macremae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>moon·struck<br/>ˈmo͞onˌstrək/<br/>adjective<br/>unable to think or act normally, especially because of being in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Moonstruck

**Author's Note:**

> Written based off an idea that tumblr pal ohnoitsadalek gave me

It isn’t until about ten minutes after Akmazian leaves that Ryan notices something was different.

He replays the conversation in his head over and over, but nothing seems out of the ordinary. Akmazian appeared out of nowhere and scared the crap out of him, Ryan said something snarky, Akmazian replied by flir-

Wait. 

No he didn’t. Akmazian didn’t hit on him once. Weird.

And not just that; jarring too. Like something had suddenly been moved into an odd position in the universe. Water is wet, space is black, Akmazian flirts with Ryan Dalias, and everything spins as normal. At least, until it doesn’t. In fact, there hasn't been a single conversation Ryan can remember they have had that didn’t involve some form of (he supposed) sexually tense banter.

Well, it's probably a one-time thing anyway.

(Hopefully.)

Except it isn't. All of the coy smiles; the lingering glances and brushing fingertips, all disappear. It is like they never happened at all.

Ryan is curious, of course. He is a variation of “scientist”; asking questions is basically his job. The frustrating thing is that he can’t exactly ask Akmazian what caused the change. That would give the opposite impression that he wanted. Besides, it isn’t like he misses the affection, or anything. That would be ridiculous.

The new dynamic isn’t bad, per say, just weird. Every time Akmazian opens his mouth to speak, Ryan expects something eye-rollingly shameless to come out. Then, he has to stop himself from instinctually doing said eye roll, and the universe ties itself into one more knot. 

The biggest curve ball is that, without the constant need to keep his guard up involving how forward he seems, Ryan starts to… notice things. Like how Akmazian’s eyes cross just a little bit when he’s deep in thought, or the thin, white scar underneath the right one. Speaking of them, they’d be terrifyingly easy to get lost in. Calculating forests of endless vibrant green, with thin plumes of smoke curling up from between the treetops. When Akmazian smiles, they look like millions of plants blooming all at once, and the little dimples in his cheeks make an appearance. It’s heart-skippingly adorable, if Ryan is being perfectly honest with himself. And since when did his hair look so soft? He’s a fugitive for chrissakes, it should be greasier than a soup kitchen. 

Their conversations seem off, somehow, though. They used to be so easy and almost comfortingly predictable, in a way. Ryan actually misses the blatant teasing, if only for the familiarity of it. Which is, of course, the only reason.

Right?

After a few weeks of this, while filling out reports late at night, Ryan’s mind starts to drift. At precisely 3:14 am, his eyes widen and the pencil he’s holding snaps in half.

“Shit,” he says out loud, softly.

He abruptly stands up and begins to pace, twirling the lower half of the broken pencil between his fingers.

“I can’t- well, actually I guess I can; shore leave proved that. And, I don’t really hate him, I guess, it’s just- no, now that argument doesn’t hold up either! He’s just- and I…”  
Ryan stops and takes a shaky breath, staring at the floor.

“Oh my God. I’m in love with Akmazian.”

And thus, the universe begins to untangle itself a little bit, while simultaneously laughing it’s ass off.

\--

The first conversation Akmazian has with Ryan once THE PLAN has been put into action is probably the hardest of his life, and this is coming from a guy who had to give the “I’m breaking up with you because I’m gay” talk to his girlfriend. 

Granted, she was too, but still.

It’s very, very hard to resist the urge to tease a blush out of Ryan, or lean forward so their faces are tantalizingly close. Akmazian never really knew how much he enjoyed getting a rise out of him until THE PLAN demanded that he stop. 

However, this is the price he must pay for a possible step forward in The Wooing of Ryan Dalias. Sacrifices must be made, and made they shall be.

But goddamn would he give for one little huff-arm-cross-combination.

By far the most deplorable part is not being able to stare at Ryan. Akmazian misses being able to see all the little details, like how he bites his bottom lip when he’s thinking, and chews it when he’s nervous. It’s always a bit swollen afterward, and it takes a lot of self-control not to lean in and kiss the hell out of the pair. Whenever Ryan frowns, his nose scrunches up and his glasses get crooked, and it’s the cutest thing Akmazian has ever seen in his life. He has freckles all over his face, but the most visible ones are spread across the bridge of his nose and cheeks, and when he blushes (which is delightfully often) they seem to spread together like soaked watercolors. There's a section of Ryan’s bangs that's too short to tuck behind his ear, but long enough that it's constantly falling into his left eye whenever he tilts his head. He always tries to blow them out of the way, and when that doesn't work, brush them away, but they always fall back into place.

Bar none, though, Akmazian misses being able to look at Ryan’s eyes. They're an impossibly deep blue, with flecks of lighter shades dotting here and there that look like stars. Streaks of hazel and turquoise paint miniature galaxies, and Akmazian has no doubt that he could float forever in them. There's an entire universe there, as vast and mysteriously alluring as the one around them.

Akmazian notices Ryan staring at him more often, and hopes that this is a sign that things are working. It would really suck if this was all for nothing. 

\--

“Are you okay?”

“Are y’all insane?!”

Ryan, leaning up against the factory wall and catching his breath, stares at Akmazian. “What do you mean?”

“Y’all nearly got yourself killed! What were you thinkin’, just tacklin’ him like that? What if he'd shot you?” Akmazian yells, waving his hands around, and Ryan has never seen him this worked up.

“Yeah, alright, it was kinda reckless, but it worked, didn't it?”

Akmazian’s eyes widen. “Kinda? Kinda? What freaky Friday universe is this where y'all are the one doing stupid things, and I'm tryin’ to explain how crazy they were?”

This is starting to get on Ryan’s nerves, and he frowns. “Look, it doesn't matter, okay? We’re safe for now, so just drop it.”

“Doesn't mat- of course it matters! Y'all can't just do stuff like that!”

Ryan snorts and rolls his eyes, “Yeah, like you're one to talk. And I told you, drop it.”

“Is this some kind of “hero complex” phase you're goin’ through?”

“No, and shut up.”

“On a cold day in hell, maybe.”

“Oh my God, why are you even this upset?” Ryan says exasperated, throwing his hands up. “You can see I'm fine!”

“It doesn't matter, you could've died!”

“Jesus Christ, Akmazian, why do you even care?”

“Because goddamnit Ryan, I love you!”

Suddenly, they're both very quiet. 

Ryan can feel his heart stop for a moment, and he can't move. Akmazian is realizing what he's said, his mouth opening and closing like a fish.

“What?”, Ryan manages.

Akmazian finally sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I- yeah, Ryan, I love you. Have for a while, if I'm bein’ honest.”

“I- but-,” he stutters, “y- you stopped flirting with me! I thought you weren't interested anymore!”

“I only did that to see if maybe then you would be more open to likin’ me back. ‘Guess it's pretty clear that didn't work though.”

Ryan doesn't really know what to say to this, but his limbs seem to be working again, so he chooses the next best option: he closes the distance and kisses him.

Akmazian is frozen for a moment, and Ryan is scared he's fucked things up, but then he tilts his head and wraps his arms around Ryan’s waist and and oh holy Jesus YES. 

Then all at once there's tongue involved, and Akmazian makes a sound that has Ryan both a little turned on, and desperately trying to figure out what he did to merit it, because he wants to hear that noise three million more times, please and thank you. 

After a few solid minutes of excellent kissing, they finally come up for air. 

“So,” Akmazian pants, face flushed and eyes bigger than dinner plates, “I'm takin’ my plan worked?”

“Mmhm,” Ryan replies dazedly, his brain rebooting itself. “Ten out of ten; a strategy for the ages.”

“Oh,” he says, and the goofiest grin spreads across his face. “Okay.”

Ryan smirks, and is delighted to see Akmazian blush even harder. Interesting. “Okay? That's all you have to say about that?”

“Uh…”

“Well, I'll show you ‘okay’,” says Ryan, who begins to happily pepper his neck with kisses.

When they make it back to the Silent Storm at last, neither of them can stop smiling, and neither of them wants to. They've waited long enough.


End file.
